The razor was an attempt to create mutually exclusive versions of what happened.
Ok, they presented the razor as if it were a Chekhov's Gun, but it was never shown or referenced again. Furthermore, the movie was clearly set-up to suggest that some or all of the events might have occurred in Lawerence's mind (a particularly cynical interpretation might say he never left the asylum at all, and spent most of his childhood and his entire adult life there, after his father sent him there). And the scene in which his father comes to the asylum seems particularly suspect, as he just pops up after Lawrence has been tortured and tells Lawrence exactly what he wants to believe (I'm a monster, you're not crazy, and I love you even if only one some sick level). However, the razor allows us to accept the possibility of an escape that did not involve him being a werewolf: he hid it and was able to cut his bonds and escape out the window, possibly slashing some people with the razor. This is interesting, however, in that to accept that the realistic explanation (the razor let him escape) was real one must also accept that John Talbot came to the asylum, and told his son that his delusions were real, possibly trying to drive him to suicide, and if one accepts that the werewolf part was real, it makes the idea of John Talbot never actually confessing quite credible. In short: Whatever part of it is real is the part that Lawrence is unaware of. Max von Sydow’s character
Who is this kindly old man Lawrence meets on the train ride home? He's yet another Talbot. The family already seems to have a strong wolf motif (note the large statue of one seen as Lawrence is arriving at Talbot Hall) and why else might a perfect stranger give Larry a wolf’s-head cane he just so happens to have? Perhaps he is a brother to Sir John and thus an estranged uncle of Larry’s, away for most, if not all of his life. Hearing somehow about his younger nephew Ben Talbot's death and knowing of what Sir John is, he intended to return to Blackmoor and confront him personally, but upon meeting Lawrence, he decided to leave it to the son to bring down the father.(This theory naturally ignores the novelization’s claim that Max von Sydow’s character was a Frenchman. Or else, he may have just picked up the accent after spending a significant time there.)
Max von Sydow's character was an old monster hunter
He was probably already on his way to Blackmoor having read about the murders, and recognized the pattern of a Werewolf, but upon meeting Lawrence realied he was probably too old to fight one, so passed on his special cane (something made of that much silver would be expensive not a trifle you give to a stranger), to Lawrence, note several things:- He mentions getting it in Gévaudan, a place with its own history of a wolf creature, therefor imlying it might have been a werewolf.
- As noted Silver is an expensive material, and a silver headed cane might be fancy, but usually swordsticks are made of a more durable metal such as steel, not outright silver through and through, unless you are stupidly rich.
- He mentioned that the "heft" of the cane had became too much for him, whilst showing off the cane, if the cane was too heavy to use as a walking stick, he wouldn't have brought it with him, implying that he meant he could not swing it anymore.
- He only offers Lawrence the cane After Lawrence mentions he is going to Blackmoore, which again implies he was probably already going there, but he gets off after Lawrence falls asleep, deciding to leave it in Lawrences hands.
- I had a strange thought that the gentleman was the Devil himself.
The origin of the “Wolfman” curse is actually a yeti
John Talbot tells Lawrence that he contracted the disease from a feral humanoid child in a cave high in the mountains of India (near the Himalayas where most alleged sightings of yetis occur) the child that bit Talbot was actually a young hairless yeti and the curse turns the victim into what appears to be wolf-man but is actually a human/yeti hybrid.- I understand that reference to one from the (many) origins from Paul Naschy's werewolf films.
- Or maybe, werewolves and yetis are the same creature in this universe.
If they would launched a sequel, it wouldn't be about the next werewolf. It would be...
A Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man remake, of course, showing Lawrence Talbot's resurrection.